Village with ultrafast broadband wins major European award

The rural community of Michaelston-y-Fedw, which has some of the fastest broadband speeds in the UK, have been congratulated by Leader of the House with responsibility for digital Julie James after winning a prestigious European Broadband Award.

Tuesday 20 November 2018

The community, between Cardiff and Newport, enjoys broadband with an upload and download speed of 1Gbps or 1000Mbps after pulling together and taking advantage of the Welsh Government’s broadband voucher schemes.

The community scooped the award in the Innovative Models of Financing, Business and Investment category at a ceremony in Brussels last night. Nominees and finalists are selected by an expert jury from across the European Union.

Villagers raised the money required to build the network in the knowledge that once built, the connections would be eligible to be funded by the Welsh Government’s Access Broadband Cymru scheme or Ultrafast Connectivity Voucher once the speeds had been reached.

Julie James said:

“This is a tremendous achievement for the community of Michaelston-y-Fedw who through impressive community spirit, hard work and backing from the Welsh Government now have access to ultrafast broadband. To come top in the awards which cover the whole of the EU does them great credit and helps put Wales on the map.

“While the digital landscape in Wales has been transformed by our Superfast Cymru project with more than nine out of ten premises with access to superfast broadband, we know there is more to do to reach the final premises. There is no single solution, and for some a community scheme will be the way forward.

“Michaelston-y-Fedw is a great example of what can be achieved when communities work together with support from the Welsh Government.”